Author Gary Tasman
Real Estate Books Make Great Gifts for Investors
& Others
By Gary Tasman
Is there someone on your shopping list who’s interested in commercial real estate? If so, I have some last-minute book suggestions that will make it easy for you to find the perfect gift for the real estate professional, investor or property owner in your life.
Most of these were written this year; all are available online (irem.org or amazon.com are two good places to start). And although some are more compelling than others, I believe that all provide good information for anyone interested in commercial real estate investing or management.
•Commercial Real Estate Analysis and Investments (David M. Geltner, Norman G. Miller, Jim Clayton and Piet Eichholtz; hardcover)
This is a very good book but let me say upfront this is not a generalized real estate investment book in any broad sense of the word. The book provides knowledge and techniques to analyze commercial real estate as a financial investment. It is heavy on financial analysis and the different types of marketing techniques that exist for investing in commercial real estate. The book is clearly written with the bare minimum of mathematics to make the content extremely valuable.
The book has thirty chapters grouped into eight parts. The eight parts are 1) Into to real estate economics, 2) Urban economics and real estate analysis, 3) Basic financial economic concepts and tools, 4) Real estate valuation and investment analysis at the microlevel, 5) Completing the basic investment analysis picture, 6) Mortgages from an investment perspective, 7) Macro-level real estate investment, 8) Real estate development and other selected topics. From this list of topics you can understand what this book is about.
If these are issues you have had questions about, I think you will find this book really valuable and I am glad to have on my shelf of important business reference.
•The Commercial Real Estate Investor’s Handbook: A Step-by-step road map to Financial Wealth (Steven D. Fisher; paperback)
This book covers the risks and rewards of real estate investing, along with types of investments, sources of financing, understanding real estate market psychology, the basics of getting started, factors affecting commercial real estate values, finding profitable deals, and understanding financing. In a nut shell, it covers everything a beginner would want to know before venturing into this type of investment.
There's also information about commercial real estate loan documents, negotiating purchase agreements an explanation of leases, managing tenants, insurance, sale of commercial real estate properties, marketing real estate properties, and taxes. There is also a glossary that is beneficial to beginners who haven't yet mastered real estate and investment terminology.
This book is not boring or dull. It's an interesting, practical and informative book that anyone considering real estate investing should check out.
•Private Real Estate Investment: Data Analysis and Decision Making-Academic Press Advanced Financed (Roger Brown; hardcover)
Roger Brown's book immediately gets into non-trivial ideas. For example, his Chapter 3, "The Rules of Thumb". Instead of simply defining terms such as CAP rate and maybe discussing some of the limitations of this tool, Brown brings up the real world: CAP rates can easily be distorted, and it is your job as an analyst to determine if the CAP rate you are using is an "honest one". Brown shows just how one can systematically do this using a corpus of transaction data, which can be found on many commercial real estate research sites today.
There are numerous other innovative ideas in the book. My feeling if you have access to good data and you are smart and diligent, you will be successful using some of the many ideas in this book.
•A Field Guide to Commercial Real Estate Investment (Robert A. McComb; paperback)
Successful commercial real estate professionals know that every single property is different from every other. Every property has its own story to tell. Not only does the author provide a sound overview of commercial real estate investing, but he breaks down commercial real estate into all of the unique segments.
Even after you understand all of the nuances of retail, industrial, office, and multi-family investment properties, if you expect to find success in commercial real estate investing, you'll need to understand financing. With the clear explanation of the financing process, and a thorough understanding of your property's unique characteristics, you'll be able to talk shop with all of the top lenders.
If you're just getting started in commercial real estate investing or you're a seasoned veteran, this is one of the best books available on this subject. You'll get the most important points, examples to master the details, and most importantly, the confidence to invest in commercial real estate. The world of real estate has changed, and change brings opportunity.
•The Fundamentals of Listings and Selling Commercial Real Estate (Loren K. Keim, paperback)
This book is entertaining and understandable. It helps lay-out exactly what to do in order to succeed in commercial and investment real estate.
The Fundamental's part of the book is the best resource for commercial brokers I've ever seen. There are explanations of each subcategory of commercial property, not just the basics, and the terminology associated with each subcategory is in easy to understand language. There are terrific explanations of all the various ways to calculate return on investment, why each one is preferred by some investors or commercial real estate buyers, and how to look outside the box for commercial financing sources. There's even a section on negotiating leases, the benefits of various types of commercial leases, and what clauses are practical to add.
The Practical part of the book lays out a complete game plan for success in your career, including step by step instructions for some prospecting and marketing methods, sample letters, and dialogues. It even lays out how to write a letter of intent and full contract. If you're selling commercial real estate, this SHOULD be part of your library of information.
Gary Tasman is executive director and principal of Commercial Property Southwest Florida, LLC, a Cushman & Wakefield alliance member. For more information, please contact him at (239) 489-3600 or gtasman@cpswfl.com or www.cpswfl.com
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